A recent article in Clickz got us thinking. The article focused on moving from segmentation to engagement by dividing targets into the “right” segments by isolating segments at a point in time so marketers can “engage and be part of the ongoing interaction stream, rather than responding to actins that are old, outdated, or overridden by more current events.”  However, at the risk of sounding ultra geeky, we are at a cross roads – there is a red pill and a blue pill before you, taking the red leaves the world as you know it, full of grouping prospects into segments based on behavior and similarities. Taking the blue will free your mind. You will learn how to gain the superhuman abilities necessary to manipulate the unstructured data around you, rather than accepting boxed segments and adapting to them. Which will you take?

Let us tell you why you’re here, you’re here because you know something, what you know you can’t explain, but you feel it, you’ve felt it your entire life, that there’s something wrong with the world, you don’t know what it is but it’s there…like a splinter in your mind driving your mind, it is this feeling that has brought you to us.

Living in a world where segments rule the digital realm is accepting a simulated world that is comfortable and complacent. The dark cloth of structure has cloaked you, shading your eyes from the truth. Structure has been all you know since birth. But, segments create a prison, a prison you can’t see or smell or taste… a prison for your mind. Segments imprison your mind from the ability to make inferences and analyze data, whereas moving away from segments and that that is known into the unknown, allows you to draw your own conclusions and truly learn from data. Truer engagement is the result. Engagement based on data from all sources derived from the “right” segments leaves out the most important piece of the puzzle altogether – that segments are the way of the past. For example, buying an audience pool of jewelry intenders in the old world meant a campaign filled with fresh data, old data, good data, bad data – what worked and didn’t work was a mystery.  Utilizing a technique, like search retargeting frees your mind if done with a technology that can tear away the structure and allow you to see every keyword that drives every impression and to see exactly when that search query was performed.  Based on impression level performance you can control your bidding, your message, your REALITY.

The “right” segment is no segments. Stated differently, a world where every piece of data used to identify and target a prospect is its own individual segment.  Unstructured data powers truth. The real true takeaway from findings and data is to turn that data into action – to turn it into something that works to alter and change. A piece of data powers something significant – it powers a decision – which leads to an action. Seeing the performance of any element, what data triggered the impression, allows granular insights that lead to better performance. Performance beyond that of segments – non-transparent audience segments create surface insights based on fixed grouping – groups whose foundations are not deep enough to be meaningful. Gathering data on impression or element level gives you insight and allows for the adjustments necessary; the actions, the changes that power the campaign. Unstructured data is the escape you’ve been searching for. Unstructured data driven display campaigns is something you can’t fully understand if told.  You have to see it for yourself.

Segments are the system. That system is our enemy. But when you’re inside, you look around, what do you see? The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system, and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand; most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.

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